Dark Side
by MoonlightShadows13
Summary: Danny reached up and touched his face, moving his hand over the all too familiar pattern. It tingled beneath his fingers, reacting to his touch. He knew what it meant. He had known when it had been tattooed on his face, when it had reappeared and he'd seen it in the mirror. 'Devil'. This is just something I wanted to try. Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

"Aw man! We lost him again," Sam complained. The team had been trying to catch Danny ever since he had said he didn't like chocolate pudding. So they had decided to drag him into a game of truth or dare. He had refused, walking away, so they'd given chase. This had happened five times, whenever they saw him they would try to get him to play.

"Here, let me try," Ava said, and walked to the door that led to Danny's room. She knocked. There was no answer. "Come on, Danny, open the door, it's just me." He door opened, and she grabbed his arm, dragging him to the living room.

"Hey! You did it!" Sam exclaimed, looking up when they came in.

"Told ya!" Ava smiled. She pulled Danny down next to her. Colson walked in.

"Glad you're all here, we've got a mission for you. Pete will meet you at Times Square."

"Aw, man! We almost did it! We almost got Danny to play truth or dare!" Sam cried, putting his hands on his head and tipping it back.

%%%%%%%%

"I can't believe we came out here and lost our chance to get Danny to eat chocolate pudding for it to be a dead end," Nova complained, again.

"Come on, let's go back to the Helicarrier, and tell Fury it was a dead end," White Tiger said, turning.

"Wait." Iron Fist's voice cut through their chatter like a knife. "Do you here that?" Then they did, the sound of footsteps.

"This way!" White Tiger called, naturally taking control. The others followed her, Nova flying above them. Then rhey saw him. He had a bow and arrow, and was running toward the buildings in the other side of the park. They caught up, taking shots and swipes at him, but he dodged each one. By then they had reached the buildings, and he jumped up, using the walls on either side to jump up to the roofs, a lot like what Iron Fist did. They followed, and the boy turned to face them. Iron Fist froze, just for a second, but it was there, the hiccup. No one noticed, only the boy, about their age with shaggy brown hair and clear green eyes. He pulled an arrow out of his quiver, aiming it carefully. The team ran at him, or in Nova's case, flew.

Time seemed to slow, and the kid smirked, releasing the taught string he had been holding back. It flow strait and true, into Iron Fist's chest, just above the heart.

"Iron Fist!" White Tiger yelled, her eyes wide with terror as he fell to to ground, blood spreading across the roof, like a stain. Nova got a wild angry look on his face, and blasted the bastard with all he had. The teen fell to the ground, not dead, but unconscious. Spider Man webbed him up, and they rushed to the Helicarrier, the prisoner to the brig, and Danny to the hospital.

%%%%%%%%

His hearing came first. He could hear Dr. Chaplin talking to someone.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine. If it helps, you can go i and see him, just be quite." The door slid open, and shut as the visitor walked in. They stopped next to him. The person gasped slightly, and Danny realized it was Ava. She quietly left, and he could hear her talking to Chaplin.

"What happened to his face?"

"I don't know, it just suddenly appeared there. I don't know what it even means."

"Do you think it's going to stay there?"

"Like I said, I'm not sure. Maybe he can tell us when he comes to. Now go get some rest. It's late." Ava left, and Danny sat up, opening his eyes. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. He almost fell down, but he supported himself with he bed post. Once he was steady on his feet, he moved to the mirror. What he saw made him sick. He braced his hand on the wall, and put his head down until the feeling passed. There was someone he had to see, and he had to see him now.

%%%%%%%%

When Danny walked into the brig, he was right there, sitting in a cell, looking as happy as could be.

"I knew you'd come, friend." He smiled, the grin disappearing as fast as it had come.

"What did you do to me?" Danny stood near the bars of the prison that held his old friend, unafraid.

"Can you feel it? Creeping up inside you?" His old friend stepped up to the bars, curling his long fingers around them, the cain between his hands bouncing off of them with slight clings.

"I asked you what you did to me."

"Pretty soon, you won't be yourself, and you won't know what even happened." His smile was wide, and it set off his eyes, where you could see sparks of madness that hadn't been there before. They formed shapes that disappeared just before you could see what they were.

Danny reached up and touched his face, moving his hand over the all too familiar pattern. It tingled beneath his fingers, reacting to his touch. He knew what it meant. He had known when it had been tattooed on his face, when it had reappeared and he'd seen it in the mirror. 'Devil'.


	2. Chapter 2

Danny sat in the floor of his room. He was trying to meditate, but it wasn't working. He had already received visits from the rest of the team, and answered Colson's questions. Yes, he was fine. No, he didn't know why there was a mysterious mark on his face. No, he did not know the person that had shot him. They had all been lies, but he had been taught by the best. Danny had lived in Kun Lun most of his life, a place where people went to learn how to lock up their dark side. They taught you how to keep it under control, and how to lie about it.

Danny's case had been special, though and the Monks had devised a solution for it. It was supposed to be a permanent fix, and there was only one way to break the seal. A bow had been given to his closest friends, two of them. Rose, and Thorn, the kid who had shot him. Danny hadn't expected to see either of them again, but now Thorn was back, and insane to boot.

As far as Danny could figure, Thorn had given in to his dark side when the dragon had attacked Kun Lun. It had smashed the place to pieces. He didn't know about Rose, but he hoped she was fine.

%%%%%%%%

School was the same. The team went through the steps, but none of them could really focus. They couldn't really believe Danny had been shot. Danny had taken the day off from school, as much to recuperate, as to hide the new tattoo. Colson found it appropriate to give him the day off from missions as well. The only bad guy the team ran into was Batroc the Leaper. The team went back to the Helicarrier after capturing Batroc and putting him in the brig. They sat in the living room, fidgeting a little. None of them knew what to say, not really. The thing was, they all wanted to suggest seeing how Danny was, but no one wanted to say anything. So they made small talk about classes and who was dating who. Stuff that didn't really matter.

In his room, Danny was concentrating on the slithering darkness that was shifting inside him. He was trying to get it back where it had been, but it wasn't working. He could hear it laughing inside his head, mocking him.

'I'll get out. I told you it wouldn't be long before I found a way to take you over.' It said to him. Danny pressed his hands against his head, screaming at it in his mind.

'Get out! Get out of my head!'

'Danny, Danny, Danny. Won't you ever learn? I can't get out of your head, because I'm a part of it, a part of you, whether you like it or not.' A cold laugh rand inside his mind. It sounded frozen at the edges. It was the laugh of a cruel, heartless being. It was the laugh of a devil. The thing inside of him was the reason for the mark on his face. When it was loose, the tattoo was there. To remind the people around him to be careful. Very careful.

There were two reasons for someone to break the seal. One was the reason Thorn had done it. To release the darkness inside of him, to take over him for revenge. The other reason was if the raw power that lay inside this darkness inside Danny was needed, they would release it to save mankind. The monk's had known that might happen. The seal had been broken too early, though. Before he could merge with darkness and control it. Now it was taking over his mind, and he could feel it.


	3. Chapter 3

It was around midnight when the alarms started. Danny jerked from sleep, and stood up. He was in the clothes he had worn yesterday, and nightmares still haunted him, shadows clinging to his mind. Rushing into the hallway, he followed his team mates who stayed on the Heilcarrier up the hallway. They found Fury in th main control room.

"What's going on?" Sam asked as he struggled, rather unsuccessfully to pull on his shoe. Falling over, he looked at Fury.

"We've had a prison brake, but only one prisoner broke out. Our newest 'guest' has left, and I'm sending you guys after him. Spiderman is waiting below us to join you." The team began to run out, but Fury called after them,

"Hold on, Danny! You're not going anywhere. After that last attack, you've barely recovered, not to mention that the one who attacked you is the one they're going after. As of now, you're officially under house arrest." Danny almost sighed, but sat down in the corner of the main control room. Having gotten his shoe on, Sam ran past him, calling an unhelpful,

"I'll tell you about it later." as he ran by.

%%%%%%%%

Spiderman fell back, panting hard. The rest of the team were behind him. They could barely stand, and his knees felt weak as well. Thorn smirked. He was barely breaking a sweat.

"What do we do?" White Tiger asked.

"I don't know." Sam said dejectedly lowering to a hover only a foot above the ground. Sam was thinking about how he could use some cake, and maybe a hug from Sara.

There was a wooshing sound and the team looked up as someone flipped down from the roof above them. They landed in between the psychopath and the SHEILD agents. Long white hair flowed back toward the teens, snapping in the wind.

"Who's that?" White Tiger asked quietly.

"Who knows?" Spiderman replied.

%%%%perspective switch%%%%

Blue eyes glinting behind a black mask, and the girl watched as Thorn's smirk grew.

"So… You showed up to save him. I should have known." She yanked the shovel she'd been carrying out of the roof in response. "Alright, if that's how you want to do it…" Notching an arrow in his bow, he drew it back, raising it to his shoulder level. The girl didn't even blink as the arrow shot toward her. Moving the flat headed shovel in a blur of movement, she blocked the arrow, and it banged off, lodging into the wall of the building to the right. Thorn shot again, and again, and she just blocked the arrows. Frowning, he shot one more arrow, and it struck the wooden shaft. It shattered and fell around the stranger's feet. Tossing the useless tool aside, she moved with the grace of a ballet dancer. Slipping between the arrows Thorn shot at her, she moved toward him. Reaching behind her, she pulled a small cylinder out of her belt. It was black, and blended into her loose pants almost perfectly. Curling her fingers around it, it split like Iron Man's suit, letting the pieces inside slide into place, and soon she was holding a compound bow. Pulling an arrow from her sleeve she notched it, pulling the string back as she moved. Now she was in front of him, and let the arrow go. It stuck in his abdomen, and he choked, blood forcing its way out of his mouth. Pulling away, the girl turned back to look at the team. They stared. Shaking her head, she let herself fall backward off the roof.


	4. Chapter 4

Sam dumped the ex- escaped convict on the bed in the infirmary. He was barely breathing, but every now and then, his chest would convulse, and he would spit up more blood.

Sam frowned at the blood soaking the arms of his suit.

"This is so gross. Why did I have to carry him?" Dejectedly slinking out, he left the rest to Dr. Chaplin.

Sam reported to Fury with the rest of the team in the control room. Danny was still sitting in the corner, watching them.

"Report in!"

"Well sir, you see, we were tracking the suspect like you wanted us to, and we confronted him on a roof top-" Spiderman began, at which point Sam cut in,

"And then we fought for awhile, and we were losing and-"

"Then some mystery girl appeared and shot him." Ava finished for them.

"So, you fought him, and got saved by a hero you didn't know?"

"That about sums it up." Spiderman admitted, scratching his head.

"As long as he's in custody, I don't care who took him down, but I'm going to have some people look into this 'mystery girl' right away." Fury turned around, and the team left. Sam noticed that Danny had disappeared while they were debriefing.

%%%%%%%%

Sam knocked quietly on Danny's room's door. Yawning, Danny opened it.

"Yeah, Sam?"

"Do you want to watch the show about elephants?" Sam asked excitedly.

"What time is it?"

"1:15. The show starts at 1:30."

"Ava already said no, didn't she?"

"Yeah, and Luke won't wake up."

"Fine." Waiting for the show to start, Sam glanced at Danny beside him. He looked like hell. It was if he hadn't been sleeping since recovering from the almost- fatal shot.

"In case you're wondering, she had white hair." Danny glanced at Sam. He sat, staring at the screen where it was playing a commercial about rice oil, and eating popcorn. "She was about my height, and her hair was long, really long. She also had this bow that had the same mechanism as Iron Man's suit, almost. It was just a cylinder, and then it split, and the rest of the bow came out. It was a compound. I just thought you should know." The show started, and half way through Danny fell asleep. It was the first night since seeing Thorn again that he didn't have nightmares.

%%%%%%%%

Fury let Danny go back to school the next day, with the order of no missions what- so- ever.

"Because Ms. Summers ate a bad quiche, I will be filling in. Now, class, say hello to your new classmate." Colson stood at the front of the class in first period, and a girl walked in. Her hair was white and tied into a ponytail that hung almost to her hips. Sam had the vague feeling he had seen her before.

"Hello, my name is Rose Miller. It's a pleasure to meet you." She smiled, showing off a mouth full of white teeth. Next to Luke, Danny stiffened. Luke looked at him with slight concern.

"Go ahead and take a seat next to Parker. Now, onto our lesson. Today we will be studying the composition of tofu- loaf…" The class groaned. Rose sat next to Peter, and he smiled at her.

"Peter Parker, it's nice to meet you." Rose smiled back, and Peter noticed that the smile didn't quite reach her eyes. Later that day, the bell rang for lunch, and the team took over their usual table. Harry came over with his lunch.

"Hey, guys, can you believe that new student? She's a total wiz! Every question right, when it comes to science, wow…"

"In math, she got the questions right, too." Ava put in.

"Murgle mrah muh." Sam said with his mouth full from the other side of the table. The others looked at him, and swallowing, he pointed with his fork. "And she's coming over here with MJ." The two slid in by Sam and Sara.

"Hey, guys," MJ said. "Um… Is he alright?" She pointed to Danny who was asleep with his chin resting on his folded arms.

"Yeah, he's fine; he just hasn't been sleeping well." Luke supplied.

"Well, in gym we have a physical, so I hope it won't affect how he does."

"He'll be fine." Sam said, finishing his mashed potatoes. The bell rang, and Sam threw an apple at Danny. Catching it, he sat up, and stretched, getting up from the table to go to gym. "See? He'll be fine."


	5. Chapter 5

"Now, we'll go in alphabetical order, and Ms. Miller you don't have to take this if you don't want to." Coach Harris said.

"No, its fine," Rose replied.

"Alright, then, Sam Alexander, you're up." They breezed through the list.

"Rose Miller." The girl stood up, and ran the physical. The rest of the class watched in awe. The coach nodded when she finished, and went on. After gym, the team was sore. They were walking down the hall, when Colson called to them,

"Sam Alexander, Ava Ayala, Peter Parker, and Luke Cage, you are to go to detention. Now." The foursome left, and Danny sighed inwardly. By the time they got back, school would be over. In forensics, Rose walked up to where Danny was sitting.

"Can I join you?" She gestured to the empty chair beside him.

"Sure." Sitting down next to him, Rose rested her chin in her hands. The bell rang, and the teacher walked up to the front of the class.

"Today, we will do a project where you should choose a different name that you like better than your own, or is the one name you despise the most. You have to give the reason why. Since it shouldn't take you too long, you have 10 minutes to decide on a name. Go." The mummer of voice started instantly.

"You have a name?" Rose watched the other kids in the class jabbed excitedly.

"Sebastian. You?"

"Roland. I love that name."

"Of coarse you do, but I prefer Rose."

"Yeah. It suits me better, don't you think?" She smiled at him, and this time it reached her eyes, lighting them up.

"Yeah, so does long hair." The teacher walked back up to the front of the class, and kids began presenting.

%%%%%%%%

Danny was stretched out on his bed. The team still hadn't gotten back, and he wondered idly if they were having trouble. No one had asked about the mark on his face, and he was glad that they hadn't, he still hadn't come up with a good cover story. Although, he figured he would just say that Sam had drawn it on with a marker that wouldn't wash off his face for a few months. Danny was trying to keep his mind off the darkness creeping into his mind, but it was hard to ignore when there was nothing else to think about.

'Hello again, Danny.'

'What do you want?'

'What, I can't just come talk to you anymore? It's been awhile since I've been able to talk to you.'

'Just go away! And stop giving me nightmares!'

'That's not me…'

'Oh, really? Why is it then that until you start slithering around inside me, I didn't have nightmares?'

'Yeah, ok, it was me, but they were just friendly reminders that I'm still here, no matter how long you ignore me. And I don't slither.'

'It feels that way to me.' It laughed, and Danny tried not to shiver.

'Just remember that anywhere there's light, there must also be shadows.' It left him then, sliding out of his mind like oil. Standing up Danny left his room, determined to stop thinking about the darkness that lurked just beneath his skin, barely contained.


	6. Author's Note

**Ok, so in case anyone actually reads these author's notes I just wanted to let you know that yes, I am procrastinating again. Sorry about that. I finally figured out where I'm going with this, so that's a step in the right direction. Hopefully I'll get the next few chapters up before December, hopefully being the key word here. This is why I can not be a novelist. School, homework, and sleep take up most of my time, not to mention the serious procrastination problems I have. So, yes this is my lame, probably not to be read explanation and apology concerning why it has taken me months to do anything with this story. Sorry, once again, and goodbye. For now.**


	7. Chapter 6

Ava was thinking about Danny. She didn't know why, just that she was. Her mind had wandered over to the first time she had seen him. Ava had been the third team member to begin living on the Helicarrier. She had seen glimpses of Luke, but never really talked to him. Sam, on the other hand, wouldn't leave her alone, and he _never stopped talking! _He followed her around like a puppy, jabbering in her ear constantly, until he passed out from lack of air. Unfortunately, his lungs could hold enough air from flying in the upper atmosphere that he could talk for hours on end. Finally, Nick Fury had announced that they would be getting a new team member. Ava hoped desperately for a girl. Fury knew that it would be a hard change from one life to another, so he had decided that only Ava would be able to come out of the Helicarrier when they picked this mysterious kid up. Sam was locked in his room.

The Helicarrier had landed in a wide clearing in the mountains. Ava had crept down the ramp behind Fury. That's when she had seen Danny. There was a wide expanse of wreckage off to the right, where a magnificent village had once stood. Danny was standing with two other boys. They were the same age as she was. Danny was shaking his head, and one of the other boy's voice rose. He had white hair, and shocking blue eyes.

"Why? Tell me, why do you have to go? Just because- " Danny cut him off, but his voice was quiet enough where Ava couldn't hear what he said. The other boy, who had black hair that hung in his eyes said something. Danny hugged them both and turned, walking with resolve toward the Helicarrier. A tear trailed down the white- haired boy's cheek.

Danny didn't talk for 5 months. He also didn't use his powers. He used just his martial arts skills, and moved with an amazing grace that always awed Ava. Sam had taken to following him around instead of Ava. Ava was glad she didn't have to deal with him, but felt bad for Danny. Eventually Danny had lost it. Sam was talking away, walking behind Danny while Ava walked by, sympathetically watching their backs. In a blur, Danny had wheeled around, hitting Sam in the nose. Sam fell back, onto the ground, nose bleeding heavily.

"You talk enough for 20 people to never say a word, did you know that?" Danny yelled at him. Sam grinned. It was a creepy sight, blood dripping down his face, staining his teeth. He leapt up, putting an arm around Danny's shoulders.

"Yeah, but that's the point. Now I know how hard you hit."

"Not even close." Danny's right fist began to glow. Sam ebbed away, a little freaked out. The glow died, and Danny walked away, leaving a confused Sam and Ava behind.

The memories began to play on a loop cycle, and Ava's eyes snapped open. She remembered the trio standing together when Danny had been picked up, and now she understood. She knew who he was. The mystery boy who had shot Danny. The third one in the group, with hair that fell in his face every now and then, covering his eyes. She sprang from the bed, and ran toward the infirmary. When she arrived, she froze. Danny was leaning over the lifeless form of the prisoner. He lifted his head and looked at her. There was a tear streak on his cheek. He walked past her, out into the hall, moving away. She couldn't tear her eyes from the screen that monitered heart rates. It was beeping continuously, the line flat.


	8. Chapter 7

Danny was drawn to the infirmary. Thorn was there, lying on the bed, watching the heart monitor. He turned when Danny came in. Danny walked over to the bed side. Thorn smiled weakly, and Danny leaned down when he beckoned.

"There's someone coming. Coming for you. They want the chains, and the power inside them. That's why I let him out, I thought you should know." Thorn's voice was weak.

"Who's coming?" Danny kept his voice low.

"Someone who should be dead." Thorn placed his hand on Danny's chest, and Danny felt one of the chains snap into place. Thorn's hand fell away, and he took a shuddering breath.

"Trust fall." The words were hoarse, and his last. The heart monitor began to beep continuously, the line flat. Danny felt a tear run down his cheek. He heard the door open, and turned to see Ava standing there. He walked past her, knowing she had found out. He decided to trust her not to tell anyone. He walked away, back to his room.

'One of the chains is back in place. What did I miss?'

'Shut up. You know what happened.'

'Yes, but his aim was off. Didn't catch me at all.'

'He didn't want to. He released you, didn't he?'

'I guess you're right. I just presumed he had had a change of heart. It happens sometimes, you know. Too bad he didn't have enough life force left to secure all of them, huh?'

'Shut up! I don't want to hear anything from you!' Danny collapsed on his bed, the war inside his mind raging on.


	9. Chapter 8

The alarm was going off again. Danny rolled over, and fell out of bed. Standing, he yanked on his hero outfit and walked slowly out of his room. He ached everywhere. The others were in front of him, and he found he was keeping up even though they were running, and he was just trudging down the hall. He felt better when they reached the control room, and moved to keep pace with the others as they ran up to Fury.

"I'm getting really tired of waking up to alarms." Fury grumbled to himself.

"What's going on?" Ava asked, skidding to a stop beside Fury.

"There's some kind of temporal disturbance, or something. You're going to go check it out. Spiderman is already on the scene."

%%%%%%

"Webhead, what's going on?" Ava landed smoothly on her feet next to Spiderman, who was standing at the entrance to a cave. Yes, a cave.

"I don't know, but the disturbance is coming from in there." Spiderman pointed into the darkness of the cave.

"A cave?" Ava asked incredulously.

"Yes, a cave."

"Well, there's no accounting for taste. Let's go." The team ran, or flew in Sam's case, down the tunnel to the cave. Yes, a cave.

They reached the main cavern in minutes. The team took their defensive positions and scanned the room. A strange machine rumbled in the corner, but otherwise the cave, yes a cave, was empty.

"Ok... This is weird..." Nova said from his position a few feet above the floor.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." Ava said sarcastically. Next to her, Danny stiffened.

"Move."

"What?"

"Now." He grabbed her arm and jumped away, dragging her with him as something exploded. The other three were thrown against the walls, and dropped out of consciousness.

"Danny, how did you-" She was cut off as a metal wire shot through the smoke toward them. The knife at the end lodged in the wall, and Danny rolled away. Ava turned to look at the knife that was inches from her face.

"Ava!" Danny screamed. Her side exploded in pain, and she looked down to see blood bloom on her costume like a flower. She collapsed, barely conscious. The knife had hit something, she just didn't know what. She looked at where Danny crouched, grimacing. He looked better when he was smiling, she decided.

"Adrian."

"Hey, Danny. How's it going?" The smoke cleared so Ava could see the dark clad figure standing in front of Danny. He had sandy hair that fell in his eyes, which were brown, so dark that they could've been black.

"You should be dead."

"I know, but fate wouldn't have it."

"Why, then?"

"Well, you see, you have something I want. Something you may not even know you have." Adrian walked toward Danny, who stiffened as if Adrian would kill him, but he just placed his finger on Danny's chest, just above his heart. "Not everyone made it out alive when the dragon attacked Kun Lun."

"No... They said everyone was fine, no one died."

"Except Amber." Danny swore, and Ava stared incredulously at the Zen-centered boy she lived with. He never swore. Ever. He didn't even get mad.

"So that's it, then. You want to tear a hole between this world and the next, to see her again."

"Sharp as ever, old friend." Adrian's mouth twisted into a mocking smile, and Danny's chest exploded. Five gleaming silver chains ripped their way out of his chest, snaking through the air. Adrian snatched them out of the air, and frowned at the number.

"Five, not six, five." Danny crumpled, collapsing on the floor.

"Thorn." He managed before he fell into unconsciousness. Adrian sighed, turning away.

"Five will have to do." Ava continued to stare at Danny, and the holes in his chest where the chains had come out. Darkness began to ooze out of them, so dark that it seemed to absorb the light around him. It flowed over his skin, seeping in. Soon, his hair was black, and veins of shadow danced under his skin. Adrian was in the corner, fussing with the machine, failing to notice what was happening behind him. Danny opened his eyes, and they were darkened, too, and were now black with veins of green. Danny stood, and Adrian whirled around.

"What?! You shouldn't be strong enough to take over yet!"

"You're slow. I've had weeks to gain strength, drawing it from Danny, stealing, you might say." His voice was deep and smooth, and if he were determining the best way to decapitate you.

"Thorn." The way Adrian said his name made it apparent that he would kill the boy, if he wasn't already dead.

"Good! You're learning! Lesson number 2, how to die." He moved so fast Ava couldn't see him. It was only the trail of shadow that clung to him that she could trace his path. His hand erupted from Adrian's chest. It glowed like The Iron Fist, only it was black. Shadow devoured shadow as it danced around his hand. His left hand, not his right.

He looked over Adrian's shoulder, and Ava noticed that the mark that had been on Danny's face since Thorn had shot him had been mirrored onto the other side of his face.

"Goodbye, Adrian. Say hello to your sister for me."

"I really hate you, Sebastian." With that Adrian sagged, the life going out of him. Sebastian yanked his hand from the corpse, and walked with quick, determined steps to the rest of the team that lay crumpled in various spots along the wall. He placed his right hand over their wounds, and shadows flowed out of his fingertips, covering them. When he was done, he stood and move toward Ava. He crouched in front of her, and she flinched at his touch. His eyes locked with hers, and his fingers traced her wound, more of the shadows sliding into it. Done, he stood and walked to the machine where the chains were. He held out his right hand, and the chains flew at him, hitting him in the chest, shooting into the holes they had made coming out. Once they were inside him again, Sebastian smashed through the machine with his hand, turning it into a pile of rubble. He collapsed then, the darkness seeping out of his skin, and flowing back into the holes in his chest, following the chains. The others stirred, and stood up, groaning and stretching.

"What happened here?" Luke asked as he helped Ava up.

"Nothing happened."


	10. Chapter 9

When Danny woke up, he was back in the infirmary on the Helicarrier. He sat up, putting his legs over the side of the bed. Standing, he moved to look in the mirror. The mark was gone now, and he could feel that the chains were back in place. He walked out of his room. Dr. Chapel looked up as he came in.

"You shouldn't be out of bed." But Danny kept walking, ignoring the doctor. He found himself on top of the Helicarrier, his feet dangling off the edge. Ava sat down next to him, and he glanced at her.

"I guess I owe you an explanation." He ran a hand through his hair.

"No, its okay."

"You want to know, though. I can tell."

"We've all got secrets, and if you don't want to tell me, it's no big deal."

"I'm supposed to be the guardian of the bridge between two worlds, this one and the next. Only, I couldn't control my powers, so I got help from the people at Kun Lun. The only solution they could devise was to use the chains to lock him up, Sebastian, that is. He could fight in the other world, in case the bridge was threatened from there, I was this world. Thorn, Adrian, Rose, and I all lived in Kun Lun, and Adrian's sister was there, too, but I didn't spend much time with her. Rose had disguised herself as a boy named Rowan so she could live there. Slowly, the other three of us found out she was a girl. It became a running joke among us that is was Rose and Thorn, and the two were almost inseparable. When I got The Iron Fist, the dragon I got it from went on a rampage, and destroyed Kun Lun. They told me everyone had made it out unharmed. That's when I took Fury's offer to be a SHEILD agent. I didn't see Adrian that day, I had always assumed he was on the scout team to see if anything was savable. That's about it, I think."

"You should hurry up and get ready, or you'll be late for school." Ava stood, and began to walk away. "Oh, and Danny?" She turned to face him again. "Thank you."

%%%%%%

Danny stood awkwardly in Colson's office.

"Danny, yes, you see Rose transfered out today, and she left this for you." Colson reached into his desk and pulled out a black cylinder. Danny took it, and he felt something die inside of him. He managed to convince himself she might come back, but deep down, he knew she was gone.

"Was there anything else?" His voice was hoarse.

"No, there wasn't, although she did say to tell you to remember." Danny felt a spark of hope light in the dead part of his chest.

Maybe she would come back after all.


End file.
